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This is What a Target Store Looked Like Yesterday at 8pm

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For once, I’m actually in the States for one of Target’s designer collaborations. But typical this collab was not. As you surely know, yesterday was the release of Missoni for Target in stores and online. I was in fact part of the thousands of people that contributed for the website not working for HOURS yesterday – in fact I was partly convinced that the “Internal Server Error” was my laptop, but twitter confirmed that the world was experiencing the same issues. Luckily I got online sometime around 11am and managed to get a few sweaters and dresses. Now, being that I am in fact in the States, I needed to get into a store, which I did last night at 8pm. The slideshow above shows the store as it was. I must also note that the Target I visited was your typical suburban Target, 2 hours away from a city.

So you might have been a little excited at the sight of ACTUAL MISSONI FOR TARGET MERCHANDISE not only lining the racks but FULL. That was the girls and infant/toddler department. The womenswear selection was almost bare, with a few sweaters and corduroy coats. I was really excited to see Missoni shoeboxes, but what was left was mainly styles for girls. Other accessories displays were completely bare. My partner in crime managed to get a tie and the only cardigan style remaining in menswear, which for only $49.99 was of excellent quality. A candle and a few stationary sets were around and there were still a few vases left. Excited that there were still some items to be had – and just generally excited to see it in the store – I snagged a card set, some girls clothing and a ladies coat to gift and the 2 menswear items.

In today’s market of numerous collaborations, Missoni for Target goes down as one of the best ever. The entire collection is said to be sold out. So what can we learn from this? For one, Target did an excellent job at PR and marketing leading up to the launch date. As one of my friends told me, “You might have luck in your suburban Target, there is no hope in NYC.” I was skeptical that people in a suburban middle-class area even knew what Missoni is let alone about the release date of the Target collab. I was wrong. I spoke to a sales person who said that at this particular Target, there were no lines, but that the RTW departments were crazy all morning with most clothing items selling out then. Of course there is something to be said about the supply and demand here. In my estimation, this was the most hyped Target collab with a major Italian designer. That went far. The limited edition factor also went far. IF Target would have produced enough Missoni product to meet the demand, would customers still want it as much? Probably not. The thrill that surrounded this designer collaboration surpassed that of even the most popular H&M collaborations. I’ve got to almost feel bad for Versace at H&M which launches in 2 months because I don’t feel like it’s going to be as major as Missoni for Target.

If you’ve read this and are in any way distressed by not scoring any goods yesterday, I have a solution. At posting time of this blog, there are 16,446 Missoni for Target clothing, shoes and accessories items on eBay! But Target prices, they are not.